Jason’s impact off the track gave everyone a template for how family and racing can, and should, go hand in hand. His mission on the track was to prove that a Louisiana boy with a dream to race could mix it up with the top guns on dirt across the country.
He started that journey in the late 90s, when he went on the road as a crew member for Steve Kinser, who later pushed him to race full time and offered support and belief in that goal when necessary.
The mission hit its peak on Aug. 13, 2016, when Johnson defeated perennial World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion and Knoxville Nationals kingpin Donny Schatz to win the Nationals less than two years after joining the series full time.
It was a moment that will live in sprint car racing lore as one of the times David slayed Goliath, a race where willpower, desire and a dream fueled a determined drive to victory the likes of which the sport had rarely seen.
After the race, Jason cried, laughed, smiled and cried some more, as the enormity of what he’d done began to set in.
It was that moment in which the mission he’d dreamed of accomplishing some two decades earlier was realized, in one breathtaking and inspiring night.
“I just grew up admiring people like Steve Kinser, who gained their success by achieving victory,” Johnson said after his Nationals win. “I only dreamed, back then, of achieving something like this myself.”
During his entire WoO career, Jason was an independent. He always co-owned or solely owned his trademark No. 41 Maxims and made the yearlong trek across the country with the support of his family, crew chief and cousin Philip Dietz and crewman Jeff Bingaman.
It was a small team, yes, but a determined one. During an era when NASCAR ownership and big-name sponsors have ruled the sport, Johnson left his mark with a group that went against the grain with every step.
I’ve fought to find the exact words to describe what Jason has meant to the sport, but I finally came to realize it’s that philosophy of breaking the mold that best tells his story.
He didn’t care how everyone else was making things work on the road; he wanted to pave his own way.
He didn’t worry about what other people said when it came to his devotion for his family, because it was his passion and his life to live, and that was all that really mattered.
In simplest terms, Jason Johnson was the Outlaws’ Outlaw, and he will be sorely missed.
